Gutters are a useful tool that homes use to direct rainwater off of the roof. Sometimes, gutters can get clogged with debris and leaves, and it can be easy to procrastinate cleaning out your gutters. While typically done during the spring and fall, this project can be done at any time of the year. Full gutters can lead to unwanted water pile up, which can pour off next to your home’s foundation and eventually get into your basement. To prevent this, you just need to keep up with cleaning your gutters. To help, here are our top tips on cleaning your gutters. Let’s take a look!
Supplies
Cleaning out your gutters does not require any fancy tools. It can be a quick task that is accomplished in under an hour. Here is everything you are going to need:
- Gloves
- Trowel
- Ladder
- Buckets
- Garden Hose
- Drill
Gutter Cleaning
It is best to save cleaning your gutters for a dry day. Gutters deal with a lot of moist debris, which can be messy when cleaning. Put on your gloves and remove as much debris as possible. For caked in soot, use your trowel to help remove. Throw all debris into your bucket. You may want to hang your bucket from your ladder so you can have both hands available. Once all large debris is removed, use your hose to rinse out gutters.
Downspout Cleaning
Your downspout is where your gutters runoff, and it is the pipe that directs the water flow to a ground drain. If water is not running properly out of the downspout, it may be clogged. Use your drill to remove the bottom end of the downspout. You can feed your hose up into the downspout to remove any clog. Once you are finished, reattach the bottom of your downspout back to the drain.
Having clean gutters and a working downspout will allow your rainwater to drain properly. Though this may not be on the top of your home priority list, it should not be neglected, especially in heavily forested areas. Try to keep up on gutter maintenance at least once or twice a year to prevent unwanted flooding. For more tips and tricks, make sure to subscribe.
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